HARDY volunteers braved the weather to clean up a canal towpath, finding lots of evidence of fly-tipping including drugs paraphernalia ... and a safe.

The Love Clean Streets clean-up attracted a handful of volunteers who helped clear the Grand Union Canal towpath between Harlesden and Stonebridge on Saturday.

They collected eight bags of recyclable goods, three bags on non-recyclable waste and 11 bags of litter, which was mostly beer cans and bottles.

Organiser Jodie Underhill found a discarded safe in the bushes containing numerous keys and about £40 in loose change, which was taken to the police station. A large amount of drug related litter was discovered, as well as fly-tipped rubbish in the car park behind Jacks Café which included a large pile of tyres and several mattresses.

Ms Underhill said: “We would like to thank the Canals and Rivers Trust for helping with this event. Special thanks goes to Tony, a volunteer who cleaned with me until 3pm despite being soaked to the skin by the relentless rain.

“We hope the public continue to use the Love Clean Streets app to report environmental crime and join the Canal and Rivers Trust with future clean-up events.”